The court lackeys of the eight-hour workday

Chapter 290 South
The summit of Junji Peak.

An Ziyang's cold gaze swept across the old man's face below the stage, and the malice contained within it made even the battle-hardened old man involuntarily frown.

"Zhou Zijing, one of the masters who disappeared decades ago, is also one of the masters within the Embroidered Uniform Guard who, according to the records, may have reached the Celestial Realm and gone into hiding."

"He didn't say a word when he was vying for the seat, but he jumped out after all the seats were filled. His intentions were obvious - he wanted to incite the martial arts world against the Embroidered Uniform Guard."

"They should be in cahoots with Tang He."

"That's true. If it weren't for the celestial beings, they wouldn't dare to cause trouble on Mount Song at this time, even if they had ten times the courage."

An Ziyang thought to himself.

By this time, the martial arts practitioners had been slowly stirred up. The shouts of "Suppressor" grew louder and louder, overlapping and gradually becoming more unified.

An Ziyang glanced over and noticed that several people jumped the highest and spoke the loudest, and their words were also very eloquent, which was very effective in stirring up the emotions of the martial arts community.

These people had been hiding in the crowd from the beginning, waiting for Zhou Zijing to take the lead so that they could quickly follow.

"As expected... people from the martial world are just that. If we don't subdue them with swords, they'll cause trouble sooner or later."

An Ziyang sighed slowly.

This moon-viewing banquet was bound to happen from the very beginning. Even if Li Miao hadn't arranged for the Huanhua Sword Sect to sit on the high platform, someone else would have used some other excuse to cause trouble.

The martial arts world and the imperial court, sects and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, have always been implicitly opposed.

Li Miao ordered the Imperial Guards to invite all the martial arts sects in the land, but upon receiving the message, most people did not set off immediately. If it weren't for Shaolin and Wudang taking the lead and dispelling their "non-violent resistance" mentality, the moon-viewing banquet might never have been held at all.

The imperial court can wipe out any single sect, but it cannot wipe out the entire martial arts world. This is what is meant by "the law does not punish the masses."

To win over the people of the martial arts world, relying solely on the imperial court's power to coerce them will only result in outward compliance but inward resistance.

In the martial arts world, the only thing people truly respect is martial arts skills.

So far, the Embroidered Uniform Guard has not publicly revealed a master who can truly win the hearts and minds of the martial arts world. The celestial beings sitting on the high platform have further boosted the morale of the martial arts community.

With the guidance of a well-intentioned person, the current situation has emerged.

An Ziyang reached out and tried to suppress the shouts of the martial arts community, but he was unsuccessful.

He, a young commander, still lacks the necessary authority.

"Ugh……"

An Ziyang sighed softly.

He slowly walked up the platform, reached out and lifted the veil, and walked to the chair next to it.

The figure sitting in the chair spoke in a sweet, innocent female voice.

"Senior Brother An... my leg is numb..."

"There's a really loud noise down there..."

"When will my master come back...?"

An Ziyang sighed again and looked at Shen Xun Ning, who was wearing a flying fish robe and had her shoulders padded.

From beginning to end, it was she who sat on the high platform.

After all, everyone under Li Miao has their own use, and the only useless person is Shen Xun Ning, so she is a perfect fit here.

"Miss Shen, please don't move. I'll bend down now and pretend to talk to you. The people in the martial arts world below will only see our shadows, so there's no need to worry about being exposed."

"The garrison commander is nowhere to be found now. We need to buy him some time. He should be back soon."

Shen Xun Ning gave a wronged "Oh".

The two of them posed like that in the light gauze.

After a short while, Zhou Zijing shouted again from below: "Commander An, it's just a matter of asking for instructions, why does it take so long! It's not like the Garrison Commander can't hear us!"

"Could it be that this legendary pacification commissioner never existed in the first place?!"

"If you don't even dare to show your face, how can you expect fellow martial artists to respect your rules! If the Embroidered Uniform Guard can't afford so many chairs, I'd rather go down the mountain now and buy some to place on this high platform!"

"Wouldn't it be better if everyone could get closer to the 'Commander of the Garrison'?"

His impassioned speech was incredibly satisfying. The martial arts world, which already both feared and loathed the Embroidered Uniform Guard, immediately echoed his sentiments.

"Senior Zhou is right!"

"Absolutely! Absolutely! All this hiding... could it be that behind that veil is a woman?" "Hahaha—"

Zhou Zijing looked around with satisfaction.

Suddenly, he frowned.

"What about people?"

The eunuch who conspired with him on this matter and promised to provide him with a secret method to ward off the five signs of decay have disappeared without a trace.

"Tsk! Did the Embroidered Uniform Guard discover me, or have they used me as a pawn?"

"Never mind, now that I've stepped forward, there's no turning back. I'll just go find him later. Even without him, my reputation in the martial world will soar after this incident!"

Thinking this, he was about to continue speaking.

Suddenly, he stopped.

Then, he slowly turned around and looked at the mountain path leading to the summit on the south side.

"What's this……"

A martial arts practitioner, who was raising his arms and shouting, suddenly felt that the shouting sounded weaker. He thought it was his imagination and was about to continue shouting when he realized that the sound was indeed quieter.

He turned his head to look to the south.

Those martial arts practitioners closest to the south side have stopped shouting.

Those with lower martial arts skills had cold sweat dripping down their foreheads, raised their hands to cover their chests, and looked towards the mountain path with suspicion and uncertainty. Those with higher martial arts skills also stood up abruptly, their hands involuntarily reaching for the weapons at their waists.

One layer, one layer, one layer.

Like harvesting wheat, from south to north, the shouts gradually disappeared, as if something unseen was swallowing the sounds.

The border had reached him.

Tom.

Tom.

Tom.

He raised his hand and covered his chest.

The true energy that used to flow effortlessly seemed to be frozen by something, and the self-circulating energy within the body felt pulled, pointing towards the south.

He shuddered involuntarily.

It was sunset, and the setting sun was like blood.

The mountain path to the south was pitch black, and he couldn't see anything there, but he instinctively knew that something was coming from there.

The celestial beings on the platform opened their eyes and looked south.

On the high platform, An Ziyang lifted the veil, turned around and tore the black cloak off Shen Xun Ning. Ignoring Shen Xun Ning's exclamation and not caring about the scene after the veil was seen by the people of the martial arts world, he jumped off the high platform and ran south.

despair.

despair.

despair.

Footsteps could be faintly heard coming from the direction of the mountain path.

A mountain wind suddenly rose, spreading the stench of blood across the entire platform.

A soft laugh.

"Ah—that feels much better."

"Unfortunately, it still couldn't threaten my life."

As the blood-red twilight shone, an object was tossed high into the air, landed in the center of the platform, rolled a few times on the ground, and slowly came to a stop.

That was Zheng Ming's head.

Someone suddenly stood up and said in confusion.

"Li...Master Li?"

(End of this chapter)